Highland

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Local resident Bert Ogarek walks along 32nd Avenue in the Highland neighborhood with his daughter, Olivia, 2. He was looking for a way to work in the neighborhood, too. Real estate agents are marketing neighborhood walkability - the ease and safety of walking from home to work, shops, restaurants, parks. Highland is one of Denver's more walkable neighborhoods.
(Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

The neighborhood in one sentence: Among the real estate agent-created hyphenates that have made their way into everyday use is Lo-Hi (short for Lower Highland). Highland is a historic and fast-growing area on a hill across the river and Interstate 25 from downtown Denver proper. It’s attracting new apartment buildings and condo complexes, bars and restaurants, shops and small businesses — and twenty- and thirty-somethings on seemingly every block.

Favorite places and best-kept secrets: The Little Man Ice Cream plaza is a wonderful urban spot with music and character, despite the often too-long line for treats. (Line woes are similar for food and drinks at neighboring Linger.) And, sure, you can wait forever to get into Williams & Graham — and it’s worth it — but the best-kept secrets are the long-established bars in the neighborhood, including My Brother’s Bar on Platte Street and Highland Tavern on Navajo Street.

What are transportation and parking like in the neighborhood?: Parking is tough — it’s best to walk or bike there, or take a cab or Lyft if you’re coming from far away. There aren’t any meters but that means open spots are few and far between. It’s an easy walk from Union Station and Commons Park.

Better for buyers or renters?: There’s a healthy mix of both, but home prices and rents are soaring.

What else should people know about the neighborhood?: Highland, originally its own town, was one of the early settlements of Denver. It has a rich history of ethnic enclaves of Italians and later Latinos, but that history is at risk of becoming a mere footnote amid rapid gentrification.